When I wake up in a dark, unfamiliar room, I have no idea what’s waiting for me in the shadows. My imagination conjures up demons of the worst kind.

Reality is much worse:

A collar with no leash. A prison with no walls. And a life stripped of meaning.

I am presented with a vile contract and asked to sign. It outlines the terms of my servitude. The only information I have about my captor are the two small letters inked at the bottom:

J.S.

Armed with only my memories, I must do everything I can to avoid becoming ensnared in his twisted mind games. But in the end, it all comes down to one choice:

Resist and die.

Or submit, and sign my life away.

The review

The Contract is the first installment of what promises to be an extraordinary series!
We meet Lilly as she wakes up in a unknown place, which she can not escape from. She is being held captive, but doesn’t know why or by whom. We follow her as she looks through the recent events in her life for reasons that could have lead her to this place.

That is when she is presented by her captor (that she still hasn’t seen and remains unknown) with a contract… which she can simply not accept.

At the bottom of the contract, I see a small written note:In short… (I flip the page over)YOU ARE MINE.

A trial of strength between Lilly and her captor then starts, and the consequences for her might be to give up her freedom, or pride… or even her life.

Lilly has everything I’m looking for in a female character. She is incredibly strong-minded, but remains realistic, which is why I could completely relate to her. I also loved the flashbacks and the glimpse of her childhood, that were definitely useful to understand her personality.

I am also completely intrigued by JS… I can not wait to learn more about him. I must say I already love to hate him!

I found this book really captivating, I could not put it down. It was short (as announced by the author, each book in the series should be about 125 pages), and felt to me like watching the first episode of a new TV series. There are lots of things that are left unexplained, but you just know that you loved this first episode, the characters, and that something really big is coming in the next part.

I definitely can not wait to read the next book… and obviously the wait shouldn’t be too long as the second part should be released on April, 20th!

I’m Scarlett Edwards. I wrote my first book as a college sophomore. After six months of edits, it made its debut as Yours to Savor.

That was at the start of 2013. I’ve written more books since then. You can find them all here.

It’s funny how quickly life changes. I used to think I’d need a degree to get a “Real Job.” Then I wrote a few books, they got somewhat popular, and now I’m living the life as a full-time romance author.

The review of The wicked we have done (4 stars), the first book in the series, can be found here

The story

In her stunning New Adult debut, The Wicked We Have Done, Sarah Harian introduced readers to the Compass Room: a twisted experimental jail where the guilty and the innocent suffer alike. But breaking out was only the beginning…

Even though she’s escaped, twenty-two-year-old Evalyn Ibarra is anything but free. She’s desperate to return to a life that no longer exists, but prying reporters continually draw her back into nightmarish memories, using the tabloids to vilify her. Bad press is the last thing she needs during the trial of the year: the case that she and her fellow survivors staked against the Compass Room engineers. A case that could terminate the use of the inhumane system forever…

But in her dreams, she is still locked in that terrifying jail.

When she wakes, someone is trying to communicate with her in secret, through strange and intricate clues. As Evalyn follows their signs, she uncovers a conspiracy that goes so much deeper than her own ordeal. A dangerous intrigue that only she can bring to light. One that will force her to work with the one person she doesn’t want to see.

Sarah Harian grew up in the foothills of Yosemite and received her B.A. and M.F.A. from Fresno State University. When not writing, she is usually hiking some mountain or another in the Sierras, playing video games with her husband, or rough-housing with her dog.

Dezdamona Kabinosh is on a mission—a mission of love. And she traveled back in her own timeline to complete it. After being betrayed by her husband she’s seeking a second chance at love, and Dez has come up with the perfect plan.

One problem though… Jaxson Kabinosh, her future husband, has also traveled back in time and he’s determined to keep Dez for himself. Who will win the ultimate battle for Dez’s heart? Jaxson, or her possible rebound guy?

Cynical-Optimist. Chocolate-holic. Sarcasm Addict. Paranormal Believer. Romance Junkie. Self-Imposed Insomniac. Animal Lover. Writer…are just a few words to describe D.T. Dyllin. She was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and now lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband and two very spoiled GSDs.

4 stars!
In the dystopian world of “The Wicked we have done”, criminals who are trialed and quite certain to be condemned to death, have the choice to change their sentence to one month in a prison where their only goal will be to survive: the Compass Room.

A month during which their morality will be tested and monitored, in order to prove whether they really are evil or not. The few survivors will be released.

The book starts as Evalyn enters the Compass Room with other young criminals, and we follow what she experiences, as we learn thanks to flashbacks what lead her to this place.

I really enjoyed reading this book, as I thought it was well written and I appreciated the original plot of this dystopian fiction, and the thought-provoking themes addressed by it (death penalty, redemption,…).

“I think that all of us – every criminal put in the Compass Room – confronts their guilt. The very last moment they could have reversed their actions? Could have said no to inflicting pain”
[…]
“Then they have the choice of being a villain, or a coward, or a hero.”

Alternating what was happening in the Compass Room with flashbacks of Evalyn’s previous life gave the story an engaging rhythm and kept me captivated throughout the book.

What I enjoyed the most was the wide range of characters. Though I had a hard time at the very beginning, to get who was who, pretty quickly all characters became distinct, each with their own story and personality. Some of them were simply evil, but the main characters were more complex.

I also loved the relationship development between the characters, going from tension and distrust, to friendship and even love, through the lens of the treat of their possible imminent death.

“I’m not leaving you until I’m dead,” I say, and I mean it.
“Please,” he begs.
“You aren’t dying before me. I won’t let it happen.”

I am looking forward to the second book in this series!

** ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

I really loved this book, I could just not put it down. I’ve had to read up to 3 in the morning, cause I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I didn’t finish this book. (Well I was not able to sleep after anyway).

In a nutshell, the story deals with the love triangle between River and the Beckerson brothers: Bobby, the ex-hockey player, pride of his family, and Adam, sweet and damaged musician.

The love triangle

“Listen Riv, the Beckerson boys share one common flaw – you.”
“You’re fighting over me?” I said in shock.

Now… usually when I hear about a love triangle, I start having doubts about reading the book (yes, call me old school, but I have problems with one girl having feelings for two boys at the same time). Except this one is the good type of love triangles!

Basically, Bobby loves River. River loves Adam. And Adam loves River, except he does not admit it. (The girl is in love with just one of the boys… See? Good type of love triangle. YAY!)

The characters

What I enjoyed the most about this book was the fact that the characters felt so realistic to me. They were human and ordinary ( And I mean it in the good way). It made me connect with them even more.

The story is told from River’s point of view. She is torn between her love for Adam and her special friendship with Bobby. I could completely relate to her. (May I add that the fact she can play The Beatles on guitar made me love her even more! Pretty big Beatles fan here!)

Pretty much from the start, I was Team Adam… When he said things like:

“I’ll make you breakfast for the rest of your life if you want it.”

It made me swoon

But I was also able to understand Bobby’s feelings, even if sometimes he looked almost cruel, because he was hurting so much…

“I see the way he looks at you – the way he’s always looked at you. It’s the same way you look at him, and it kills me, it really does.”

I also really liked the “supportive” characters, like Tara and Jesse.

The drama

Although I knew something big was coming (it was even written in the blurb! ), I was not suspicious enough to imagine what kind of emotional rollercoaster I was about to experience.
Basically, this was me happily reading, and getting to the end of the book :

(No wonder I had trouble sleeping after finishing the book!)

To sum up:

A great beginning for a very promising series.
I just can’t wait to read the next book!

Flawed Perfection by Cassandra Giovanni is officially released !

You absolutely need to try this one! Here is the blurb :

Bobby Beckerson was the American All-Star hockey player–he was the spitting image of perfection to his family. Goofy, sweet and undeniably gorgeous, he had everything but the one girl he wanted: River Ahlers.

River Ahlers is successful in everything but love. She’s been in love with Adam Beckerson since they were kids. Worst of all she’s stuck right in the middle of the brother’s dueling over everything and anything, and she doesn’t even know she’s the ultimate prize.

Adam Beckerson was a boy with a guitar, a smile that sunk girl’s hearts and a stone wall around his own. He was anything but perfect, and no matter how hard he tried he was nothing compared to Bobby. Sweet, damaged, with boyish good-looks, nobody thought Adam loved anyone but himself.

Bobby loved River, River loved Adam and Adam only loved himself–or so everyone thought. Then one night everything changes, and as it threatens to destroy everyone involved a tragedy strikes that will break them all…

And today is also a very special day for Cassandra Giovanni, aka the author !